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“Very Gallant Gentlemen:” The Pigeons of the Royal Naval Air Service, 1916-1918 A.D.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) enjoys the honor of being the world’s first independent air force. For over 100 years, the RAF has protected Britain’s skies and air space from harm, playing a major role in the Second World War and the Cold War. Few people, however, are aware of the RAF’s predecessors…
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Old Anchor: A Naval Pigeon That Jumped Ship During World War One
In the final months of the Great War, the German Army frequently left behind their pigeons as they beat a hasty retreat from encroaching Allied forces. Many of these abandoned birds, as we’ve previously written about, were eagerly adopted by the Americans, who incorporated them into breeding programs back stateside. But Germany’s Army was not…
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The Imperial German Navy’s Pigeon Service: 1876 – 1918 A.D.
We here at Pigeon of War often mention the Franco-Prussian War in our posts. It’s an important moment in military pigeon history. By showing the world that homing pigeons could deliver messages in wartime, it led to a pigeon arms race all across Europe. However, another significant event occurred during that War—the birth of the…
Pigeons of War 